


The Way Back Home

by VentusSkyress



Category: Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Video Game 2018), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Dimension Travel, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Peter is from 616, let the Spiders be happy, set after Spider-Geddon and Into the Spider-Verse, will add more tags and characters as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-01-04 10:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 13,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18341753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VentusSkyress/pseuds/VentusSkyress
Summary: My friend made the mistake of asking me "What would happen if Liv met Otto?" This was only supposed to be short but I went a bit overboard.Her Collider worked, so why shouldn't Liv try again? Picking up Spider-People may not be her intention this time but it seems they are forever attracted to trouble. But how will she react meeting another version of herself?Otto wanted to clear his head after what happened with Terrax the Tamer, but travelling dimension to dimension with none other than Peter Parker isn't exactly ideal.





	1. A Day in the Life

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little something I have been working away on since I saw ITSV. I already have a fair amount written out, I just need to go through and edit it until I am happy. This is the first fic I have worked up the courage to share actually, so if you see any issues in any of the chapters please feel free to let me know! The chapters will be quite short, it just helps me to focus my attention for shorter periods of time in order to edit them.

Olivia Octavius was very much excited. Her arms, all 6 of them, tapped away at the multiple screens and many buttons. Her face was aglow with anticipation and she smiled broadly, the wrinkles on her face adding to her friendly exterior. Olivia reached one of her robotic arms towards her coffee cup and she took a shaky sip, still tapping away.

After her last adventure in messing with the multiverse and her subsequent defeat at the hands of several Spider-People, she had disappeared. But her Collider worked, so she refused to stop using it. However, without Wilson Fisk's funding, rebuilding the machine proved more difficult than she first anticipated, so Olivia had cut corners. She had relocated into an abandoned warehouse, just a little bigger than a football field, and she collected the materials she needed herself, whichever way she could, violently if need be. Olivia's...skills beyond science helped in that regard. The Collider itself was much smaller than the first, but it still took up most of the room. The room was fairly messy with empty and packed boxes stacked against the walls and wooden planks lying around, intended for repairs that she hadn’t quite got around to yet. Windows stretched horizontally along the length of the walls, and faint light was streaming in.

After some final adjustments, Olivia retracted her octopus arms and put on her lab coat, removing her goggles while also allowing her hair to fall back into its natural, messy style. She pressed the large button to activate the Collider, the grinding and whirring began almost immediately. She put on her regular glasses and pushed them up her nose while going over her settings one last time, leaning on the table with her hands on either side of the computer. This time she let the Collider randomise on what it will pick up, there will be nothing in particular, like there was last time. Olivia hoped that something of substance enough to study would come through, the machine likely wasn't advanced enough to pick up living beings unfortunately but she needed something around that size, even inanimate, to analyse properly. The Collider grew louder and began spinning quickly, and the beams shot together, they were not big enough to create a black hole this time, but still they collided together well enough and shot through the multiverse to collect whatever unfortunate objects they could.

Otto Octavius was very much tired. His earlier battle against Terrax the Tamer had left him with injuries that would be life-threatening to anyone else, but even to him they were still severe. None of his doctorates were specifically for medicine, but Otto knew that in this condition he shouldn't even be out of bed. But he refused to wait back at the hospital for an Avenger or Alpha Flight member to take him away. He had saved San Francisco from the wrath of Terrax, got beaten half to death, and yet his crimes in a previous life were still not forgiven. The city bustled beneath him, and his sensitive ears picked up chatter. The people felt safe now. That was all that mattered at the end of the day. The clearing of the city was almost complete, the rubble and debris had been moved. He had played a large part in that too, he mused. While things seemed to be getting back to normal, there was no way to completely erase the impact an attack from an intergalactic warlord had on the city. Scars would remain. Both on the city, and in the minds and hearts of the people who had lost so much. The wind was whistling past his ears and his hair was now greatly windswept, Otto sighed, put on his mask and leaped from his perch. There was still work to do. He aimed a clawed hand and shot out a web, letting gravity move his exhausted body. He still wasn't used to the sense of freedom that web-swinging gave him. Thankfully being in recovery had only limited his agility somewhat, and, like all spider powered people, he’d heal fast.

After some time on the web he spotted something odd. A person had seemingly been resting on a rooftop, but had left their plastic cup on top of a table. Otto tutted and made his way over to the roof, landing on its edge. His spider-sense began to tingle but he noticed all too late, almost instantaneously a small tear opened up in the sky in front of him, and some intangible force pulled him in. Then it closed as quickly and seamlessly as it appeared.


	2. The Nice Way

Objects were being thrown from the machine like bullets from a gun, although some were much larger. The boxes which had been stacked against the walls of the room were tossed this way and that, creating a chaotic scene reminiscent of a classic hurricane portrayal. Olivia clicked her tongue happily and began to power down the Collider. She toddled over to the glass windows, just in time to see everything crash loudly to the floor in a manner of stillness which contrasted the previous scene greatly. She put her hands onto the glass, craning for a better look at the collection of objects. She hoped some of these would prove large enough for research purposes. Olivia went to turn towards the stairs descending from the viewing room when something caught her eye. In the final moments before the beams ceased their intricate dance something shot out. Was that...a person?

He wasn't new to dimension-hopping, in fact, by this point Otto was quite proficient in it. But a stabbing pain behind his eyes warned him this was likely not a viable way in which one should experience travelling dimensions, at least not suddenly. He closed his eyes tightly and hoped that he actually had a destination and wasn't just moving aimlessly, or, being moved aimlessly rather. He got his wish when a portal opened again and threw him out into a large room. He had little time to assess his surroundings, his momentum was still going and so he opened his eyes to see a window fast approaching. Otto collided with it, and it had no mercy, refusing to break under his weight, there was a continuous squeaking noise as he slid down the length of the window before ultimately crashing to the floor in a heap of limbs and objects.

Olivia had jumped slightly as the person flew into her window. Adjusting her glasses she watched as he fell to the floor below and she wiggled slightly, almost breaking into a dance entirely. She hadn't anticipated her Collider picking up any people, but this was a most fortunate turn of events. They would be an ideal candidate to examine whether or not she had finally solved the issue which caused cellular decay in subjects. 

"I'll be down in a moment," she tapped the glass to get the person's attention, "don't you be causing a ruckus now!" Amusement was palpable in her voice as she started down the stairs, still dressed in her lab coat.

He considered not getting up at all. He was exhausted, still in mild pain, and now Otto had fresh bruises to add to the mix. His clone body may be as resilient as any Spider-Person, but things still hurt like hell. Could today get any worse? He picked himself off the floor with an audible groan and turned to take in his surroundings. The machine took up the majority of the room, any exits that may exist couldn’t be seen beyond its bulk. A Collider, he deduced quickly, his eyes scanning the object and his mind working a mile a minute. Most impressive, but very crude as far as traversing dimensions go. The room itself was fairly large, but it was a mess. Otto kicked a plastic cup out of his way as he walked over to part of a lamppost lying against the wall. The only thought that came quick enough to his exhausted brain as he massaged a sore shoulder was that someone needed to learn to clean up after themselves. Before he could even identify how uncharacteristic that was for his brain, his senses began to tingle again. This time, Otto was fast enough to act. He jumped onto the wall and crawled into a dark corner, when it’s safe he will look for an exit, for now, he made himself as small as possible. He was in no condition to fight at his best.

Prancing down the stairs, the scientist came to a stop at the entrance to the room. She smiled widely for a moment at everything around her, before continuing forward, remembering that her biggest interest had landed just below the windows. But Olivia was noting a distinct lack of a person. She narrowed her eyes, looking around somewhat wildly, but there were no exits here beyond the staircase she came from, and in order to leave from her lab at the top of the stairs one would need her fingerprint. The door didn't close itself when opened, but Olivia had remembered to shut it behind her this time. So she decided the best way to play this for the moment was the nice way, her captive couldn't go anywhere.

"Hello dear. Please show yourself, don't make this any harder than it has to be." Her quick eyes caught a slight movement above her, and she grew suspicious, not the nice way then. She began removing her coat.

He was pressed flat against the wall, slowly edging his way towards the exit he had seen the woman emerge from. She had spoken a greeting, which he refused to answer as it was somewhat menacing, and was scanning the room for something. Otto would rather not stick around long enough so see his suspicion about that something being him confirmed. He doubted there was any other people here. The woman didn't appear physically threatening, he would much rather not attack her, and so long as her attention remained focused rather intently, almost obsessively, at the wall, he believed he could escape the room without her noticing. What was so special about that wall? Why not the lamppost propped against it, which was surely more interesting? Otto watched as she began removing her coat, still looking forward. Seconds later an appendage shot out of her back and grabbed him by the leg, dragging Otto from the shadows. His indignant noise was cut short as he was brought face-to-face with an eerily familiar sight. The woman sneered, slowly putting her hair up while maintaining eye contact. From his position upside down Otto concluded that today could, indeed, get worse.

"It's wonderful to meet you. Would you like to help me with a few research questions?"


	3. Octavius'...Octaviui?

"No thanks, lady." Otto decided the best way to deal with this would be to put on a facade of indifference, make himself seem harmless. Perhaps she wouldn't know Spider-Man...perhaps she wouldn't recognise the suit. But Otto sure recognised hers. The arms were unmistakable. This woman, whoever she was, had access to the same kind of technology which he used to create his own tentacle arms. Although, hers appeared to be made of a different material. This woman likely was a variant of him.

"Aww, don't be like that Spider-Man." Great. There goes his hope for claiming he just really likes wearing fancy suits. His head was starting to hurt with all the blood running to it. "I must admit. It’s quite a coincidence that I meet another Spider-Man. Although, unless you've changed suits I haven't seen you before. What's your name, dear?" Her cheery voice was grating on his nerves. He had every intention of answering, but first he wanted down. Otto unsheathed his own metal arms and twisted to his side, using his arms to knock the woman off her feet. He caught himself before he fell and stood, his four spider arms stretching menacingly behind him. "I'm the Superior Spider-Man. Trust me, you would know if you've met me before."

Otto watched as she stood up and patted down her suit meaningfully.   
"Superior Spider-Man? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Olivia Octavius, but my enemies call me-"

 

"I know," he stuttered, realising that, as far as she was aware, he shouldn’t know, and he didn't want to reveal his identity "I know some of the other Spider-People which have met you." He was taking a wild guess here, but he assumed Olivia had met some others. In part due to her capabilities with dimension travelling, and also due to her being familiar with Spider-Man. He would also be somewhat disappointed if Olivia hadn't met many others like him. After all, she was an other-dimensional counterpart to Otto, she must be intelligent. As she began to approach him, he just wished more versions of him were not villains, like Olivia seemed to be.

"Well, Superior Spider-Man, I hope you will be more cooperative than your friends were. I only wish to do some simple tests," her words were paired with a sharp jab of one of her arms, which Otto leaped seamlessly over, using a web to propel himself onto the wall, retracting his own arms as they were cumbersome when he was wall crawling. He dropped and attempted to land a hook to Olivia's face but was smacked out of the way into a pile of boxes.   
"Maybe while I'm at it I can look at those fancy arms of yours too. They seem very interesting, are they organic at all? Or do you just like the spider theme? Are you a Peter Parker? I've learned that there are plenty of spiders who aren't. Are you not in pain? No cellular decay?" She stalked towards the boxes, chattering away. From any other person this may just seem like enthusiasm, but her arms were hovering dangerously, alluding to her true nature, "Oh, I have so many questions. But I can answer all of them as soon as I get my hands on you." She peered into the pile but there was no one there.

"Well, you certainly have enough of them to stand a better chance than most." Otto was standing on top of the machine. A tentacle snapped out at him, he got out of the way, crossed the distance using his webs and kicked Olivia in the stomach, sending her flying backwards several feet. He took off towards the stairway. What neither of them noticed was Olivia's stray arm, while missing their intended mark with Otto, had clanged heavily onto the Collider and became tangled on the web of wires. When she pulled it free to pursue him she took several wires with her. The Collider made a noise of protest at the lack of power supply to maintain a connection between the dimensions. In a flash, everything brought through was gone. Olivia entered the stairwell to see Otto lying on the floor, unconscious.


	4. Never Late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter I've edited so far. Only like... 10 more to go that I've written and after that, well, it goes were it goes I suppose.

This was strange of Otto. Peter was aware of just how punctual he always was with his lectures, even if he was Spider-Man, with the responsibilities of such, he was very rarely late, never mind the absurd idea of him missing a lecture completely. Peter tapped his pen to his mouth and sighed, standing up. Peter had taken quite a liking to the other Spider-People that were currently taking residence in 616, Otto included, surprising to some. They had a long and complicated history, but he had watched Otto go from a villainous mastermind to a dubious hero. Now, with him letting the spiders stay in his building and staying out for days on end to clean up the city after Terrax, Otto really was trying to be a better person. To begin with, there was only 9 of them in this dimension, but after the events of their second run-in with the Inheritors, 'Spider-Geddon' as the other Peter in the white spider suit had called it, there was way more than 9 of them trapped here now. The Web had been badly damaged by...someone, and without it none of them could return home yet.

Peter walked towards the exit, followed by many chattering students just as confused as he was about their missing lecturer, but he didn't leave through the door like them. Instead, he turned to the right and moved through a door labelled 'roof'. As he climbed the stairs he began removing his clothing piece by piece and placing it in his backpack, revealing his red and blue spider suit underneath. He never went anywhere without it. He threw his bag to the ceiling and webbed it there, he would pick it up again soon, he didn't want to worry about losing it should he run into any trouble. There was nothing there to give away his identity anyway. Peter stopped at the entrance to the roof and braced himself, putting on his mask. He opened the door and stepped out into the clean air, the hustle and bustle of midday San Francisco went on beneath him. It was different to New York, and there were times when he felt very out of place. He had come here after the attack, along with several other heroes, to help in the relief efforts. He was supposed to be heading home soon but now he was on a mission to find out exactly why Otto hadn't shown up, his first stop was Otto's apartment complex. Maybe he had just gotten really invested in a particular experiment? Yea, he thought to himself, that could maybe have happened. Peter threw himself off the roof and began swinging to his destination. Fresh air was normally calming to Peter, but it was doing little to clear his mind now.

He landed on the small patio and opened the door that he knew was always left open. Otto's place had become a temporary safe area for any Spider-People who found themselves on the West coast. To begin with Peter was here to help clear everything up, then it was just to keep an eye on Otto and his affinity for dodgy pass times for a short time, but he was trusting him more and more everyday. After spending more time with him, Peter had actually grown quite close to the other man. He was brash, and arrogant. But his heart seemed to be in the right place. It took him long enough to get it there, Peter huffed. The place wasn't empty, but his spider-sense was reacting to the presence of others like him, so Peter knew he was safe. He strolled into the large, open living room, removing his mask on the way and sitting it on a small table. He smirked finding Ben Reilly sitting on the large couch, moving restlessly and shouting nonsense at the TV, a bowl of popcorn in his hands, and popcorn all over the couch and the floor.

"Good afternoon, Ben." Ben jumped. His dyed blonde hair was a mess from taking off his mask, but he was still dressed in the rest of his suit.

"Pete! It's nice to see you around." He playfully threw a handful of kernels in Peter's direction, "How are things? Did you see Otto around?" Peter didn't find it surprising that Ben asked about Otto so quickly. The man was only ever out of his lab on patrol, or at a lecture. And he and Ben were pretty close. He looked seriously at his 'brother'.

"Actually Ben I hoped you could answer that last question for me. Otto didn't show up to the physics lecture. You said he had been out on patrol beforehand?" The man on the couch stood to attention almost immediately.

"He never misses a lecture." Ben narrowed his eyes, "But yea, he did. Said he was just gonna swing around for a bit to clear his mind." They both knew Otto wanted out to avoid being here if the authorities came to question him, but neither of them mentioned it, and the authorities hadn't actually paid them a visit yet either. They were both in New York when Terrax had attacked, and seeing the state the scientist was in afterwards had made his heart drop. But they were in New York at the time. There wasn't much that could've been done.

"Well...this isn't suspicious at all. But before we jump to any conclusions, perhaps we should check out the lab." Peter extended a hand down the hallway. Ben stood up, switched the TV off, threw the controls onto the seat and nodded in agreement.


	5. Don't Meet Your Idols

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing a character meeting another version of themselves isn't easy no matter how well you know them I guess. Don't really have too much to go on for what Liv is like other than the movie, I based her a bit off my friends headcanon that she's just a Lil Bonkers. Might be a bit OOC.

Otto awoke to find himself in a smaller room. There was laboratory equipment all around him, a microscope to his side appeared to be well cared for with several sample palettes lying beside it. Papers were scattered everywhere, the tables were covered in paper and files, and a fresh mug of coffee lay beside a small TV screen which was displaying a series of interconnected lines. He cocked his head to the side slightly, it appeared to be a makeshift diagram of the Great Web, only several dimensions were marked with numbers. He found himself missing his own lab. A few papers had fallen to the floor. He strained to see a page, only for it to be covered in doodles of what appeared to be sea creatures. Olivia had good taste, he thought. 

In front of him was a wall made almost entirely of glass. On the other side of said wall he could see the remnants of a recent snowfall, the soft flakes now coated everything they could have reached, from the roofs of buildings to the branches of trees in the forest nearby. He guessed that whatever building he was in was quite secluded, surrounded by the forest. He squinted his eyes against the light and attempted to shift towards the shade, but he found he couldn't budge. For the first time since he opened his eyes he took in his own predicament. Otto was sitting in a chair, his arms and legs were held in place by straps, and the back of the chair pressed against him perfectly, almost uncomfortably. He took a small sense of pride in the fact that Olivia was at least weary of his own arms, but he found himself wishing he kept that card closer to his chest in some of these situations. No matter, he was full of surprises. His attempt at movement alerted Olivia to him being awake. She moved from a dark corner of the room, out of his possible line of sight, where she had been using one of the other microscopes. Only somewhat ominous. 

"Good morning, dear. You were out for quite some time. I regret the damage to my Collider but it should be an easy fix. Plus, the resulting issue stopped you skittering about. So that's a positive." She punctuated her last sentence with a boop to his nose, he did his best to channel a death stare straight into her eyes, she didn't seem to mind. What did he expect from an Octavius. As a strand of hair fell in front of Otto's eyes he just now noticed his mask had been removed. The look of shock on his face, however brief, was visible long enough for her to take notice.

"Yes, I took it off. I also took a few blood samples, I hope you don't mind. Don’t worry I put a little plaster on your arm over where the needle was,” Otto looked at his arm incredulously, it stuck out like a sore thumb over his suit, he was about to protest, “I was getting bored waiting for you to wake up," she murmured and walked towards her equipment, "you are no Peter Parker. Not like the Peters I have met anyway. You look nothing like him, and the samples don't match,” she narrowed her eyes looking deep in thought, “not completely anyway. There is something there but I can't pin it." She hummed, acting almost glad that something stumped her. "At least your cells aren't decaying. In fact, they are very odd," Olivia pushed her glasses up her nose before picking up her notes, "I want to say they're almost synthesized but that can't be true." Otto rolled his eyes. Somewhat disappointed that she hadn't figured out he was a clone, or a clone of sorts, but he realised it didn't really matter. He wouldn't stay around long enough for her to figure it out anyway. 

He sighed, watching her walk around the room. He was bored, and tired. If it wasn’t for the chair he would’ve slumped. Olivia was simply far too energetic for his liking. But he should remain on guard, from what he had heard from the others, and now briefly experienced himself, she was not someone that most people should mess with. To the unassuming eye she seemed perfectly lovely, but Olivia most certainly had a nefarious streak. She put science in front of almost everything. That is what made her lethal. That and her combative abilities, of course. He found himself wondering what she was trying to do with her fancy machine. He recalls Miles saying something about Fisk last time, did that apply here too? If she was anything like himself she would do work for money, but it would normally be working towards her own ends anyway, and the idea of finding another way to travel dimensions did strike him as a valiant goal.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" His thoughts were interrupted. He shot Olivia a glare, a silent, stubborn vow that he would say nothing. "Very well. I'll figure it out eventually. I know you spiders are quite secretive but I have a feeling there might be a good reason you're not telling me." She pointed a finger at him playfully before stepping out the door, her heels clicking down the hall. Time to make his escape. He was still wearing the rest of his suit, gloves included. There was a subtle ‘snikt’ sound as his small claws extended, they would make quick work of the leather straps, he thought only a little smugly, as he shifted his wrist and got to work. 

Olivia continued through the hall on her way back to the Collider. She smirked as she held up the blood sample from Superior Spider-Man. What an interesting person, if somewhat irritating. He shared some DNA with Peter Parker, but not entirely, so perhaps some kind of relative. He said he knew Spider-People who have met her, but why wouldn’t he give his name? He was hiding something, she could see it. But there is more than one way to get someone to share their secrets. She reached the control room, took off her coat and once again got to work powering the machine back up. She gave the sample to one of her tentacles and watched as it slithered through the air to deliver the small vial to a tray which ejected from the controls. Turning back to the main computer, Olivia began to key the Collider to his blood specifically, ideally from the same dimension in the hopes of finding good... blackmail material in any family. She didn't want to risk a different dimension and have a repeat of last time with too many Spider-People for her to realistically fight. The machine started up again, the gears began turning and the whirring sound filled the whole room. The beams shot together, once again firing off, but this time with a destination in mind.


	6. Brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started crying writing this chapter I love Ben so much oh my god.

Normally these walls were bursting with life. Not just in terms of people milling about, but with noise coming from the lab as Otto tinkered and built. Now it was only quiet. What little light there was coming from the single, dull light was once endearing and atmospheric. Now it was just gloomy. Peter and Ben stalked the hall, being all too careful with their footsteps even though they knew they had no reason to be. They stopped outside the lab. The one room Otto didn't let them inside, he was a very secretive man, it was surprising so much of the building had been open to them at all. Peter stepped forward and opened the door, letting the dim light pour into the empty lab.

The room itself was well kept. Screens covered the walls showing scientific data of all sorts. Peter, although not much of a robotics expert himself, understood most of it. Nothing questionable, it seemed like Otto was just attempting to improve his Spider-Bots using technology from 2099. Long tables ran along either end of the room, on top of them were organised papers, equipment, and discarded electronics, some of which had been used as parts, leaving them broken and open with wires everywhere. Peter sighed seeing the tall, human-sized cylinder which contained the Superior Octopus suit, at least the HYDRA symbol was no longer there, he shrugged and patted the glass. Ben picked up some of the papers, flicking through.

"Don't do that!" Peter took them out of his hands, gently as not to rip the paper, "he'll kill us if we touch anything." Only mostly joking.

"Relax, Peter. It didn't seem to be anything serious. Just a few suit designs. For one of the other Peters I think. The one with the white spider on his chest." Peter's expression changed. 

"Poor guy. If anyone can find a way to make him more comfortable while he's stuck here it's Otto.” That was admittedly a little odd to say, but it was true that Pete saw Otto as a mentor figure, and, having been close to the Otto of his own world, it made sense. “I do wish he'd ask for help more often though. After all, I know what I'm doing with suit designs too." He said, jumping up to sit on the table. Ben took the papers back,   
"Otto? Asking for help? You alright Peter?" He asked, adding, "Should we tell Pete about the new designs for his suit? Might help to cheer him up a bit." Pete hadn't been involved during the first war, he felt very much out of place, regardless of how fond everyone was of him. As much as Pete expressed joy at being around more spiders, as many Spider-People did, he missed his home, he missed his MJ, he missed his Miles. 

"Maybe," Peter rubbed his chin, "let's just find Otto first. It shouldn't take us too long."

"You gotta say touch wood dude!" Ben lightly smacked him on the arm, looking at him expectantly.

"What? There’s no w-" Peter was interrupted by a beeping noise. Where the wall-to-wall window with a view out to the city was there was a large screen descending slowly. Ben placed the papers back where he found them in a disorderly fashion and both of them watched intently. 

"Bio match found. Welcome Doctor Octavius." A booming voice echoed, just as a thud alerted them to a new section, otherwise hidden, at the other end of the room.

Peter and Ben pushed through the door, mouths agape as they took in the small room. It contained nothing but two stasis chambers, similar to those that Ben, as a clone, was all too familiar with, and a tiny table. "Well, a secret room isn't really that surprising all things considered." Ben shrugged, walking over to the table and picking up what he found,  
"It's just a couple of files," he started flicking through them, "about Noir and UK I'm pretty sure."  
They both fell silent for a moment. Peter hummed and narrowed his eyes, placing his hands on one of the chambers, trying to see what was inside, but he already knew the answer.

"He's trying to bring them back." He sighed. Peter knew Otto felt guilty about what happened to Billy and the Peter from the past, he had developed something resembling a conscience in recent months. It was an impressive goal, normally he would be glad for the opportunity to bring his friends back, he may even be supporting Otto, considering how proficient he is with cloning technology, but his sudden disappearance clouded what would otherwise be a positive finding. Peter's mind was moving quickly from question to question. Why keep this hidden? It was very supervillain-esq. It had likely only opened in the first place because of how similar he and Otto were genetically, with Otto's body being made of half of Peter's genetic material. How exactly will Noir and UK come back? They had been consumed by the Inheritors, to clone them back properly, personality and all, Otto would need to collect a lot of data from their respective Universes, or from Noir's anyway since Billy's had been destroyed. This wasn't possible anyway with the Web in tatters. Where was Otto? Had he perhaps left to find Brian Braddock, this worlds equivalent of Spider-UK? He was a possible substitute to use for cloning. Peter's internal back-and-forth was cut short as his spider-senses flared. He looked over to Ben who was reacting to the unseen threat also. He walked over to the other man and took hold of his arm gently.

"Let's go!" Ben nodded, not speaking a word. They ran, before they could take a step into the main room a portal opened up behind them, and strong force began pulling them back. Peter turned. He saw the swirling purple and black mass. He and Ben were still connected at the arm and Ben wildly shot out a web to try and pull them away from the anomaly, catching the wall, he was shouting to get Peter's attention, but it didn't affect him as he continued to stare behind them. His Spider-sense was going wild alright, but beyond the blind panic there was something more, something he recognised, that it was alerting him to. Just beyond the portal. Peter let go of Ben's arm and Ben could only watch as he let himself be pulled by the invisible force, disappearing a moment later with the tear closing back up instantly.


	7. A Different Kind of Self Hatred

Otto stood up, stretching his arms and legs, finally ridding himself of that cursed chair. He cracked his knuckles, heading towards the door. He caught sight of his mask on a nearby table, and putting it back on he pondered to himself how Peter had been able to avoid having his identity revealed for so long. Would it be hypocritical of him to ask this woman who she thought she was to bring him to this dimension, much less try and keep him here? Perhaps. But he didn't care. Otto wandered the halls, under normal circumstances, or as normal as they could be, he would likely get completely lost. But the building wasn't overly large, and he was able to follow the mechanical sounds of the Collider to where he would find Olivia. She was starting it up again, and her continued arrogance only fueled him. What he would do when he gets there, he wasn't sure.

She looked on with morbid excitement as yet another person was ejected from the machine. Olivia thought it best to confront them instantly this time, perhaps make them feel safe. After all, they were a regular person and posed no threat, she only needed them to answer a few questions if they were cooperative, not for the same reasons she planned on keeping the first visitor around. But that's a different story. After all, who wouldn't want to know how those Spider-People function? Perhaps there would be a way for her to acquire such abilities herself. She shut off the machine quickly and headed towards the warehouse's main room, smirking at her own ingenuity.

Peter's body made noises of protest as he stood up, feeling a pain he rubbed the back of his head. Firstly, he noticed that he still wasn't wearing his mask, secondly, when he brought his hand back, there was blood. He had likely hit his head, but he didn’t feel any pain so he didn’t worry about it. It was quiet, but the Collider whistled, notifying Peter of its presence. He knew exactly what happened. Well, not exactly. But he knew dimension travelling when he saw it, or experienced it, anyway. He shook his head gently, trying to clear the confused thoughts. He decided that letting go was for the best, he didn't want Ben caught up in this too.  
"Great," he whispered, he never cared much for the quiet, "could this day get any worse?

"Hello there!" He looked towards the voice with a smile.

Finally reaching what he presumed to be the observation room, which had mistakenly been left wide open, Otto marveled at the equipment around him. In any other situation he would likely be impressed. But not now. He swatted the scientist within him down. Now he was tempted to make a mess, "cause a ruckus" as Olivia had so patronisingly told him not to do. He looked at a colourful mesh of wires connecting to a computer, as tall as the room itself, and he resisted the temptation to tear them out, especially after hearing a thud coming from the window. He walked over slowly, narrowing his eyes. The thud sounded again and this time Otto saw. Someone jumped onto the window, and then away again, followed by a tentacle that smacked into the window. He looked out into the room and his anger developed into a deep seated rage. Below him was none other than Peter Parker, in the middle of a conflict with Olivia Octavius. He had no right to be here, he should be in 616. He ran to join him. Thinking along the way that if Peter wasn't actually here by choice then there was going to be chaos.

As soon as Otto opened the door his senses began warning him and he ducked as a chunk of debris soared past him. He looked at it incredulously, failing to act in time as Peter was also thrown at the wall and knocked Otto off his feet. The two of them lay in a heap, Otto rubbed his forehead. "This isn't exactly what I planned when I decided to join you." As Peter gathered his senses again he looked at Otto grinning from ear to ear.

"Otto! So this is where-"

 

"Otto? Is that your name?"


	8. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be part of the last chapter but fight scenes got me Fucked Up, I've edited this god knows how may times.

Olivia settled for a moment on her approach, looking at them curiously with her hands clasped. This otherwise friendly gesture was ruined by the fact that her arms slowly slithered over to float around them, hovering threateningly. Otto turned to Peter who was now looking somewhat ashamed, and sighed. He pushed down his anger as best as possible, being angry would make keeping a level head more difficult.

"See. Was that so difficult, Otto? All I wanted was your name." He glared at Olivia.

"It means nothing to you. Now if you pleas-" He made to stand up.

"No, please remain seated," She punctuated her 'request' by gently pushing him over again with one of her arms, "I don't want the two of you crawling all over the place. Our new guest isn't very friendly. I must admit this wasn't what I was expecting." She looked deep in thought with her finger on her chin. Her arms shifted from their enclosed stance momentarily.

Out of the corner of his eye Otto saw Peter slink away while Olivia was focused on speaking to him. "So, Liv, if I may call you that, what exactly were you expecting?" Otto wanted to keep her talking, he used the name that Miles had used to refer to her. He looked at Liv curiously, as he too was very interested why Peter was here, it didn't seem like her intention.

"Ideally," She said with a smug grin, "I wanted someone related you here so I could learn who you are," she clamped a tentacle around Otto's neck and brought him closer, "are you related to Peter dear?" She recognised the other spider as Peter Parker, though she had never met this exact one, she was sure he would recognise Liv, she thought to herself. Although he was hardly careful with his identity anyway, running around with no mask. "Are you perhaps brothers? Otto Parker, is that your name?" An accidental indignant snort from him answered that question, "No? I suppose it doesn't really matter. I won. I got your name. And now there’s another Spider for me to meet." She looked around, taking notice of the fact that there was one missing. Otto extended his arms and prepared to break free from her grasp, which was now getting rather uncomfortable, when Peter's voice sounded from the other end of the room.

"Hey Ock! This is your dimension-thingy, right? Would be a shame if someone where to...mess it up a little." He began to jump around on top of it, looking more comical than anything.

"Peter that's hardly going to do anyt-" Liv's remark was cut short as Otto shot a web at her face, freeing himself, and taking a brief moment to raise his eyebrows at Peter's antics. Both the spiders knew it wouldn't have any impact, but it may distract Liv long enough for Otto to make a move. He did. He made to run for the exit, figuring that the best way home is the way they came, so they needed to learn to use the Collider, and fast. "I don't think so Otto," Liv took hold around his torso, "just how stupid do you think I am?" She threw him across the room, but he was able to catch himself on the wall opposite. Peter jumped into action, attacking Liv as best as he could even if he was still a bit dazed from his journey. Swinging from the ceiling and dropping to land a kick, he was swept off his feet and careened into the nearby wall. Peter took a moment to observe as Otto engaged, with an equal amount of limbs to his adversary, that today had indeed gotten worse. He leaped into the fray again, deciding to stay lower this time, successfully webbing one of Doc Ock's arms solidly to the floor.

For a brief moment Otto thought that perhaps it would be that simple. Two of his own arms were digging into the ground for leverage as he held back another of Liv's arms, the other two of hers were focused on trying to catch Peter as he skittered about between all her appendages, using his webs to try and limit their movement. But that hope was shattered as with a heave the first arm tore free and shot at him. Having been expecting it Otto jumped into the air, avoiding the blow. Another darted at him but using his arms he was able to deflect it away, or Liv would have to risk it getting cut off. He began to join in Peter's efforts. Knowing all too well how clunky arms were when they were saturated with webs. For a moment Otto was confused as one of the arms moved away from attacking either of them, but it came back a moment later gripping a fallen wooden support and hit him with it, sending him back a few feet and completely splintering the wood. With Otto temporarily out of the fight she focused on Peter. She smiled, watching as he dodged all of them skillfully several times before he messed up. She grabbed him around the torso and began colliding him into any object or wall she could reach, laughing somewhat maniacally as she did so. Then Liv felt a great weight on her back and almost lost her balance.

This was a stupid idea, Otto thought. He saw as Liv's limbs dropped Peter to the floor and he had moved to attack her. From his position on her back he had the perfect opportunity. Using his claws he began to rip and tear at the backpack controlling the arms. They may be made from a different material than any of his sets but they had to be controlled somehow. Otto watched as her arms began to flail around before collapsing to the ground, seemingly immobilized. He had scuttled out of the way from the wild arms but watched as Peter closed the gap towards the frantic Liv, landing a punch to her face. Not hard enough to cause any lasting damage, but she should be out cold for a while, he calculated, standing with his hands on his hips. Peter hissed in pain holding his hand briefly before extending it towards Otto, it took him a moment to realise Peter's request for a high-five. Otto sighed theatrically, but complied, smiling under his mask.


	9. Don't Dimension Travel on an Empty Stomach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It keeps trying to correct my spellings... let me be British in peace!

"That should do it." Peter stepped back and clapped his hands together. He had left Doc Ock webbed to a chair where she would hopefully not be able to interfere, even if she woke up before they found a way out. He yawned, more than a bit exhausted. He couldn't wait to get home, get some sleep, and maybe order a pizza. He looked over to where Otto was tapping away at the many buttons on the main computer. "So," he smirked, "how does it feel to fight another Doctor Octavius. I mean, she isn't the first alternate dimension you you've met but-"

"Her name is Liv," Otto said, not breaking concentration as he continued tapping away, "and yes fighting her was...an experience. But a learning one. I can assess any faults in her equipment which I could be in danger of having also." He walked over to one of the large motherboards and Peter followed.

"So how did you get here Otto? Why didn't you leave a message if you were going to go gallivanting off into another dimension?" Peter was looking at the wires, they reached awfully high. The equipment wasn't new to him but this was the most interesting set-up he had seen in a while. Liv had great ideas, if only she didn't go about them in such a chaotic fashion.

"It wasn't my intention, Peter. I was brought here forcibly, I don't think Liv even meant to bring me here. I do believe bringing you here was intentional, but judging by the way she was talking she wasn't expecting another spider," Otto chuckled briefly, looking at Peter, "she thought we were related."

"Well. We kind of are, aren't we? Blood wise. Presumably Liv used you to bring me here." Sometimes Peter felt bad for the clones. Always confused with or compared to himself in some way, shape, or form. Sometimes by those with dangerous intent. But at least they all had spider-powers too to protect themselves.

"Yes, and if she is as intelligent as me, after having crossed direct familial bonds off the list of possibilities as to what links us, clones will not be much further down the list. I'd rather not be here when she realises that is the case." Peter nodded enthusiastically in agreement and a comfortable silence enveloped the room as they both continued to work. Peter had went to calibrate the Collider, moving and replacing wires as necessary, thinking over what Otto said. What kind of bonds did he consider those between clones? Peter had bet this is not what Otto imagined when he first stole the clone body from the Jackal. He supposed that was hardly important right now, they should just concentrate on getting home, but there was some curiosity there.

As interesting as Otto found other dimensions, hopping between them just left a sour feeling in his mouth, it tasted of terrible memories. It was his fault that Noir and UK were in his dimension in the first place, just because he selfishly wanted to perfect his cloning technology. It was his fault they- "Hey Otto do you think we can actually work this thing? Being pulled into another dimension is hardly a new thing for me but I'd like to get home." Otto was grateful for Peter pulling him from his thoughts but said nothing, just watched as he climbed the stairs for a moment.

"I'm sure with both of us working at our optimum we should be able to get back home. Although, I am incredibly curious as to how this machine works with the Web out of commission. But I suppose there are likely other ways to dimension travel." He nodded in response. After a moment Peter's stomach rumbled. 

"Kinda hungry... you see any vending machines or that during your time here? Or maybe we should make a stop on the way home for something to eat." he joked. But in that moment a plan sparked in Otto's mind. Surely they could afford one quick pit-stop. Not for food, but for a greater purpose. He walked over to the computer to alter the coordinates, watching carefully as Peter left the room in his search for food. He would understand. This was Otto's responsibility.

Five minutes later Peter sauntered back through the door with bags of chips in his hands. "Good news! They have my favourite flavour. I had to fight the vending machine for a bit, but I was victorious. I got you some too." He tossed a pack at Otto, and while he caught it he wasn't hungry.

"I'm afraid I don't have much of an appetite at the moment but I appreciate the sentiment."

"Oh right. Big, strong, superior clone body doesn't need as much food." He flexed theatrically before playfully punching Otto on the arm, "Always having to one-up us regular super-powered people." Otto snorted. But was struck by the realisation of just how comfortable Peter was around him now. It made some sense, they had fought side-by-side twice now against an enemy that would see the entirety of their kind extinct, but he wasn't used to hearing jokes in any context outside of fighting. Peter had always made quips, but these ones no longer came from an opponent, rather from a friend who was simply jesting. 'Bantering' as Otto hears it is called nowadays.

"Well, Peter. If you're done bantering and you're ready to go that's calibrations and mapping complete." Peter stopped licking the salt from his fingers momentarily and stared at him in disbelief.

"Did you just say bantering?" Peter asked. Otto paused for a moment.

"Yes. It is a verb, no?" Peter began laughing. Otto just looked on in confusion before Peter clapped his shoulder.

"Yea. Yea it sure is Otto. I'm good to go too." He said, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. Otto turned to look briefly at Liv who still seemed unconscious, it would be easy enough for her to escape when she woke but he was happy that hadn't came to pass, then he looked at the keys again and pressed the large button to start the Collider. Peter would forgive him for a slight misconception, surely, especially after he hears Otto's plan, but on the unlikely chance he didn't agree Otto had to make sure Peter wouldn't be able to stop him. He steeled himself and began his descent to the main room, hearing Peter's light footsteps behind him. The beams were dancing once more and Peter spoke. "You wanna go first or should I? Or how about we both go together at the same time? Is that a good plan?" Otto looked at him in amusement before realising Peter was probably nervous. He would always quip when that was the case and it was understandable, dimension travelling could go very wrong and was often followed by unpleasant events in the past.

"It is a good plan, yes." He watched as Peter exhaled. Otto moved to stand beside him and they walked into the beams together.

They were oblivious as Liv, who had escaped moments before, stood up. She watched as the two spider-men walked into her Collider and she looked down at the controls, contemplative, before she began changing the destination. Liv had no clue what would happen to them when she adjusted the destination in the middle of their journey but it didn't really matter. Either she found out the answer to that question or she stopped them from getting home, where she presumed they were heading, win-win. She punched in a random set of numbers, eyes growing somewhat manic. Analysing her backpack she tutted, pesky spiders. She wouldn't follow them yet. There were repairs to do.


	10. Sharp, Pointy, and Damaged

Traversing dimensions really didn't get any easier with experience. At least this time he had landed on his feet, Otto thought, and he felt fine, all things considered. He looked at Peter, checking him for injuries, taking notice of the blood coating his hair. Inquiring about it, Peter just looked amused. "It's been there a while, Otto. But don't worry. I'm alright." Somewhat satisfied that their journey went smoothly, Otto prepared for the worst. Peter was smart, when he realised they were in the wrong dimension he would likely know Otto was involved. They had entered this dimension into an alleyway, he watched as Peter crawled up a wall and followed him, looking for a better view of where they were.

Perching on top of a building, Otto was suspicious. It was dark outside, in the streets below there was a multitude of lights coming from other buildings and cars as they drove by, occasionally beeping at someone they thought too slow. The lights below rivaled the lights above, with stars scattered throughout the sky. The air was cold and damp, but nothing like the radiated air that plagued most of Loomworld, Otto's intended destination. He couldn’t remember much about Loomworld. He knew it was a mess of a dimension, like somewhere straight out of a post apocalypse. This was certainly not Loomworld. "This is New York. I thought we would be coming out at San Francisco?" Peter seemed a little perturbed. Otto saw a good opportunity. While he wouldn't be able to do what he intended at Loomworld, yet, he could prepare here. Captain Britain flew around New York occasionally, he remembered.

"I apologise for any deception I utilised to get us here, Peter, but I need to find someone." Telling a small lie to disguise a bigger one he was hiding, it was a shady tactic, but Otto didn't see much choice. But he was confused too. Was this 616? Had Otto not changed the numbers properly? And why would it spit them out in New York?

"Otto I really wish you would stop lying to me. I'm past automatically assuming every plan you have is a devious one. What are we looking for?" Otto hesitated for a moment, of course Peter knew he was up to something, but should he tell Peter what he was planning? Surely he would understand why he had to do this. He scratched the back of his head, there was plenty of time to make that decision. It wasn't like Peter had to come along with him anyway. They were home. Otto simply had proof now that other methods of dimension travelling existed, and he wouldn't rest until he had completed his task. But why were they here? He supposed when it came to such a large job as narrowing down where you would land after hopping into a Collider, trying to calculate the exact city on the exact Earth, out of millions of possibilities, was a challenge. But it was one Otto should have been up for. He sensed foul play. "You alright there?" Peter had hopped up to perch beside him and clicked in front of his face. 

"Sorry. It's been a long day. I am going to look for Captain Britain. He visits New York, right?"

"Yea, after the Avengers moved up North we got a few people flying by on occasion to make sure everything is fine. He's one of them. Even after the Avengers came back to New York I still see him around. Quite a cool dude. Why?" Otto didn’t answer Peter’s question. He narrowed his eyes, lenses blinking disbelievingly, having seen something unusual in the skyline.

"Peter, what do you remember the Avengers tower looking like?" Otto asked slowly.

"It was all sharp and pointy," he moved his arms around somewhat erratically, smiling, "it's still undergoing maintenance now after it was brought down on Red Hulk."

"Well," Otto pointed at what he presumed to be the Avengers tower, "that tower looks neither sharp nor damaged." He stood up. "I think we should check it out." He jumped off the building, web-swinging off towards the dark silhouette in the distance. It was partly a ploy to give him a reason not to answer any of Peter's questions, but there was something underlying there, a suspicion of sorts.

"Yea. Sure thing, Otto. It's not like if anyone is able to renovate their tower completely that fast it's Tony Stark or anything." He sighed heavily. Realising he still didn't have his mask on. He groaned and looked around, finding a paper bag, he smiled somewhat fondly. This would only be temporary. Just like last time. He followed after Otto. A good swing around the city always helped to clear his mind.


	11. Bet

Every thwip further cemented the doubt in his mind. Things were different, barely so, simply a brand name change here, a different name for a building there, but he picked them out and added them to the list of evidence he was silently compiling. Otto could feel the wind rushing past his face and knew he was going remarkably fast. Peter was keeping up of course, and below him he could hear the noises of surprise from onlookers as they swung by. It never ceased to amaze Otto to see how excited people are when they catch a glimpse of Spider-Man, never mind two of them. But he could tell they were noises of pleasant surprise, or, in some cases, annoyance, more than anything, New York had been through too much to be so easily scared anymore.

Moments later he landed on a building facing the Avengers tower, hearing Peter land softly a moment later. "It's not right. Nothing about this is." Peter said it before Otto did. 

"You noticed it too?" He took one look at what Peter was wearing on his face and he could almost laugh, but there wasn't much else Peter could do with no mask.

"I've spent a long time around this city. Well, not this city exactly," Peter crossed his arms, "because I know my New York. And this isn't it." Otto nodded. Peter looking serious though two eye holes in a paper bag was an odd look.

"Agreed. Wrong dimension then." He had lied to Peter for no reason. Otto looked back at the tower. It was tall, gray, covered in glass panels, and fairly bland. Excluding, of course, the giant glowing red A near the top of the building. He sighed, Stark always was one for opulence. "But how?"

"Liv. She must have done something. Messed with the coordinates while we were on our way here." Peter looked him in the eyes for a moment as if searching for something. He moved to the edge of the building and sat down. Otto joined him.

"I think you're probably correct, Peter." As he sat beside him Otto saw something in the water. He squinted trying to get a better look through the darkness. It was an outline of a floating building. There were few lights on at all, so few that it blended almost seamlessly into the night, if it wasn't for his heightened senses Otto would never have seen it, it was almost as if it didn't want to be seen. But it was unmistakable to him. It was The Raft.

This itself wasn’t too telling, many dimensions had The Raft, or some form of it. But it sparked an idea in his mind. Between the tower and the Raft this universe seemed somewhat familiar. Otto stood up a little too quickly and began clicking on the bracer on his arm. It wasn't until Peter called out to him that he realised he had began to pace the length of the building. "What's up, Doc?" He asked sounding pleased with himself, but a bit muffled. Otto would've rolled his eyes but he was too concentrated.

"I believe I may know which universe we are in. And if you would allow me to explain," he held up a finger towards Peter, who looked mildly indignant at basically being told to shut up before he even opened his mouth, but he complied for now anyway, "if I am correct then it is because I visited here during, well, what did Pete call it again? Spider-Geddon?"

"The best name ever, of course a Peter came up with it." Otto shushed him.

"1048, the dimension was called. I left a Spider-Bot there to… keep an eye on something. If I can contact it-" Peter raised a hand before immediately talking.

"Then we're in 1048 again!"

"Exactly," Otto snapped his fingers, watching as his bracer scanned the area, "it won't do much to get us out if that is the case. But one thing at a time." Moments of tense silence passed before the beeping sounded. The bot had been picked up. It was on the other side of the city, but it was here. "Well," Otto clapped his hands together, "welcome to 1048, Peter, I suppose." Peter perked up.

"Does this world have a Spider?" he asked.

"Yes. Pete, actually. He's back in 616. Trapped like everyone else," Otto tapped his chin for a moment, "in fact, I believe this Earth also has a Miles with spider abilities. I remember Pete said goodbye to him before he left." There was a few parallels between this dimension and theirs, but there was one parallel he would never allow to occur. He could seek out the Spider-Bot and see how this world’s Otto was doing. But he didn't particularly want to, it wasn't him, but Otto knew it could be if he wasn't careful.

"-so why don't we pay him a visit?"

"W-what?" Otto had missed a part of Peter's question.

"I said, why don't we go pay this Miles a visit? It sounds like you're saying he should still be here and if Pete told him what's happened then us showing up at his door asking for help to get home will hardly be that surprising." Peter stood up, stretching.

"Yes. I suppose that is true. How will we find him?" 

"He's a Spider-Man. I imagine we'll find him swinging about eventually. Bet you can't find him before I do." Peter winked before throwing himself off the building. A bet? Otto shook his head but followed suit.


	12. Miles

It didn't take long to find Miles at all, or at least, who Otto presumed to be Miles, wearing the red and black suit he was familiar with, although this Miles was a few years younger. It was rush hour, both Otto and Peter had paused for a moment to assess their surroundings, watching as people hurried along the paths winding in all directions, from this height the swarm of people looked similar to a fast-flowing river. A few took notice of them, but most were continuing on their way too quickly. Then they heard it, barely audible over the city noise but it was unmistakable, the shouting and crashing of a fight nearby. Otto and Peter shared a brief glance before heading off in the direction it was coming from.

The young man was engaged in a fight with three people. Three people who were... dressed like the Vulture. None of them were Adrian, of course, but their suits were surprisingly accurate, give or take a few differences that were likely intentional anyway. Otto supposed it didn't matter. They were attacking Miles, right now they were the enemy. Peter zipped past him, webbing himself towards one of their wings, attempting to clog up the metal feathers there. Miles was fighting hand-to-hand with another, using his webs to keep himself airborne. Otto saw the other look alike as they swooped through the air, ready to dive bomb at Miles, and Otto found his target.

Still swinging through the air he kept his momentum going and hit into the diving Vulture with his shoulder, throwing them back a few feet before he landed safely on the side of the building. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Miles look around at the newcomers, a little confused, but as Miles ducked below a sharp wing he refocused on the fight. Otto's opponent had recovered and was now snarling at him, somewhat deviously, he clenched his fist and prepared leaped off the wall to escape the talons he knew were coming, and they embedded themselves there a moment later. At the same time he extended his spider arms and turned, slicing off a few of the metal feathers from one of the wings. "You're not really very good at this." Peter remarked. And a moment later Otto saw as a Vulture fell to the roof below, wings in tatters. Peter moved to help the more inexperienced Miles, who had just been thrown into a wall painfully.

Having been distracted he failed to react in time as another Vulture grabbed him by the shoulders and began to ascend. Otto's initial instinct was to begin kicking wildly but he had a better plan. He reached his metal arms as far round the Vulture as they could go. "Would you like a hug?" He saw their face drop before he closed his arms, forcing the wings to fold, and they both plummeted. Otto angled himself, took hold of the Vulture with one arm and aimed with the other. The building approached fast but he caught it with a web, and using his feet he forcefully crashed the Vulture's back into the wall before webbing them there. It was a bit more violent than he intended, but at the worst they would have a cracked rib or two since he had managed to slow their descent quite a bit with his webs.

He crawled up the rest of the building and found both Peter and Miles waiting there, with the other two lookalikes webbed together, looking disgruntled and making incoherent noises. "I've called the authorities. We had best get out of here." Miles called to him. They moved quickly. Something that unites most Spider-People is their unwillingness to get involved with the police force.


	13. Ready to Go

"So, uh, you guys gonna tell me what's going on? I know Pete said there was other spider-people but just how many of us will start dropping out of the sky? Should I start bringing an umbrella?" Miles seemed rather frantic and it was warranted. There were two Spider-Men in front of him but neither of them were his friend, who he was likely worried sick about. They were swinging towards Miles' and Pete's shared apartment. Otto decided keeping quiet was the best course of action for now, he was never very good at consoling.

"Well, Miles-" Peter started.

"How do you know my name, Bag-Man?" They landed on the roof and entered through a door there. Miles removed his mask, and the both of them followed suit, Peter discarded the paper bag in the small can he hoped was for trash. Upon seeing Peter's face Miles looked anguished, his earlier inquiries forgotten.

"Peter?" Miles asked softly.

"Not your Peter, no. But I am Peter Parker and I can say your Peter is safe. He's fine," he took hold of the young boy's shoulders gently, "he's just trapped in our world." He smiled and hoped it would make Miles feel at least a little better. The poor boy was inexperienced, still hurting from their fight with the Vultures, and he was alone.

"He is telling you the truth, young man. Pete is perfectly fine, if a bit unsettled. I saw him just the other day." Otto cringed. He wanted that last sentence to be reassuring but it just came off as a gloat more than anything. Miles didn't seem too affected.

"And who are you? You don't look like a Peter." Miles turned to look at Otto.

"I'm-" He paused for a moment. The Otto of this world caused great damage. Was this a wise choice? Pete took the news well, in fact, it seemed to make him more comfortable around Otto if anything. That wouldn't happen with Miles, though. But they did need a way home and Miles is intelligent, he would be able to point them in the right direction. He didn't need to know his real name to do that, did he? Some things are better left to secrecy. "I'm Elliot Tolliver." He gave his alias. Otto saw Peter giving him an odd look, but thankfully he made no move to correct him. He would tell Peter later, probably.

"Oookay." Miles turned towards the kitchen island to get a drink of water and a brief silence filled the room. It was getting dark, they could see it through the slim, tall windows, but the noise in the streets didn't cease. It likely never would. "What are you guys doing here? Why didn't Pete come back? What do you mean by trapped?" He said looking into the glass of liquid in his hands. Peter patted him on the back reassuringly.

"It's a long story, but to make it short the thing we use to travel dimensions is damaged, we can't use it. We're not here by choice either, someone brought us from our dimension." He looked at Otto ruefully and for the first time since Peter had came from the Collider, Otto took note of just how tired he seemed. "And we need your help to get back!" The tiredness was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by something resembling excitement. Peter's ability to hide how he felt truly was something else, Otto thought.

"Of course. You guys just want to get home, right? I'm presuming you're the good guys here before I help you. And Pete, he will get back right?" Miles still looked a little doubtful, but he was a spider too, solidarity is important.

"We are," Otto sat down on one of the chairs at the kitchen island, "and home is where we want to go. We just need parts to build a Collider, a small one of course. As for Pete, it's just a matter of how long repairs take."

"Good, and parts are easy. We'll find all sorts of things at Doctor Octavius' old lab." Otto snapped his head up to look at him, and when he caught Miles giving him a funny look he tried to play it off.

"That is a great idea, Miles. I can see why Pete likes you." Miles beamed and moved towards the nearby wall, crawling up it. He loosened some screws from the small vent and retrieved a set of keys. 

"Well if you guys are ready to go I am too." Peter clapped his hands together, heading towards the door they came in.

"Peter, you aren't ready to go," Otto said with a smile on his face, "Unless of course, you would like me to fetch another paper bag for you?" He felt a small swell of pride as Miles laughed.

"One sec, I'll be right back." Miles said to Peter, shaking his head. A moment later he exited one of the other rooms holding a classic Spider-Man mask. "It was Pete's", he explained, "he gave it to me to use when he was showing me the ropes, before I got my own suit." He gestured to his apparel.

"Thank you, Miles." Peter took it gratefully. Otto stood up, feeling some bones crack as he did. 

"Now we are ready to go."


	14. Reunion(Again)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are really hitting me hard this month so things are pretty slow... rip

Liv was tense. She carefully removed the needle filled with some of her own blood. It was a hunch, but one she was intelligent enough to conjure in the first place. She placed a few drops onto a palette and looked closely. She began laughing, not a manic laugh, but that of someone who had been proven right. She didn't doubt herself, but she daintily picked up the photo showing Otto's synthesised cells. There were similarities alright, but she looked closer at her notes. Furrowing her brows, Liv noticed the mix of her and Peter's samples, which she had kept from last time. Everything made sense. Otto was certainly older than Peter, they had no direct relation, therefore he must be a synthesised person. A clone. A mix of Peter and, presumably, himself, whatever the version of Doctor Octavius was originally in his world. She had never met a clone, but the science wasn't really that alien to her. She rushed through the halls, glad that she hadn't changed the destination on the Collider's computer since they left.

Miles landed on the roof of the lab, with Peter and Otto landing closely behind them. Otto knew where this lab was, but he didn't want too many questions to be asked, so he had simply followed. They had moved out under the cover of night. He looked up, taking notice of the near full moon, a streak of white across it telling of a jet which had not long passed, he could still hear the distant engines. "It's unlocked. Let's go." Miles opened the door on the roof and ushered the others through, switching on the hall light. "Oh no." Miles put his head in his hands, "Pete never told me there was a second locked door. He must have the card with him." He looked at the card reader, seeming almost disappointed. 

"It's alright, Miles. If you'd stand back I can open the door." Otto stepped forward, letting his arms fall from his back. He caught Peter looking at him curiously, before piercing his arms directly through the door, and heaving it from its hinges, throwing it behind them. The spider arms were gone a moment later, and he dusted his hands, turning to see the shocked look on Miles' and Peter's faces, their lenses wide. "What?" Otto outstretched his hands before stepping into the lab.

"You know, Elliot." Peter put emphasis on the name, obviously disapproving of it's use at all. "By opening the door I didn't expect you to tear it from it's frame!"

"What did you expect?" Otto crossed his arms.

"I don't know. Are those fancy appendages of yours no good for, I don't know, picking locks or whatever? Opening up the box and messing around with some wires?" He gestured towards Otto's back.

"No. They are much too cumbersome." It was somewhat of a lie. He probably could, but he was tense and such a job required a calm and collected attitude. Miles was looking between them in an amused fashion.

"Well, guys. Here's the lab, whenever you're done with," he pointed at both of them, "this." He went further into the room, the other two spiders narrowed their eyes at each other before splitting up to explore.

Peter walked around the lab, looking but not really taking anything in as he was too deep in thought. He understood why Otto lied about who he is to Miles, and Peter supposed it wouldn't matter that much at the end of the day, but it still irked him. Lies came too easy to Otto. To a lot of Ottos, he mused as he ran his hands along a workbench before picking up a small bottle. Pete had told him what happened here. He looked at the bottle and was dragged violently from his thoughts, it read 'Black Widow'. For a moment he thought it was a spider, before noticing the blood collected within. He was just somewhat weirded out, he placed it back down gently before realising there was a lot of them. Didn't Otto say something about Captain Britain? Would they be so lucky? Peter began picking up each bottle and looking at the label rapidly, they were all super powered people, what was being planned here? He found what he was searching for and smiled. Having seen the hidden room back home he knew fine well what Otto was planning, but Peter would let him have this one. He would be ecstatic to have the other spiders back himself. "Hey Elliot, catch!" He tossed the bottle at Otto, and using his webs he caught it effortlessly. Reading it, he looked at Peter for a moment, expression unreadable.

"You guys find the parts you need?" Miles piped up from the other side of the room. He was looking at a large board in one corner with lots of papers pinned to it. He seemed contemplative. Peter walked over to see what he was looking at, and upon seeing a board filled with newspapers relating to Spider-Man, put his hand on Miles's shoulder comfortingly.

"One of them." Otto said somewhat grimly, his eyes trailed to the floor. 

In all honesty, Peter was somewhat in the dark as to what they should be looking for. A small throwaway Web watch of sorts was probably their best bet, like the one Gwen made to escape back to 616, but he had never got a good look at it before it exploded into a puddle of indistinguishable parts. A regular base watch would be a good start, he sighed.

Simultaneously, their spider-senses went off. A portal opened in the centre of the room, it's strong force pulling all sorts of objects to it. The table which previously held the bottles toppled, smashing the glass. For the best, probably, Otto thought, don't want just anyone to get a hold of those. Upon seeing the figure emerge and the portal close, Peter groaned and Otto prepared for battle.

"Hello again, Otto Octavius."


	15. A Gift

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Otto sneered. 

"What's going on?" Miles sounded off. Not quite afraid, mostly confused.

"Nothing to worry about." Otto moved to put himself between Liv and Miles and Peter, but the boy continued backing away.

"You didn't correct her... As far as I'm concerned there are two Doc Ocks in this room and I don't know if I can trust any of you!"

"Miles, please. Otto is on our side." Peter tried to console him. Liv, having been looking on with mild amusement, finally spoke up. 

"If you would take a moment to listen to me you'd find I'm not here to be antagonistic at all." She clasped her hands and there was a light note to her voice, as if she found this whole thing amusing. She probably did.

"Why should we trust you?" Peter moved towards Liv. "You've been our enemy so far, why not now?"

"Well. I just found out an other-dimensional counterpart to me is Spider-Man. That has certainly piqued my interest, and maybe I'll catch more flies with honey as opposed to vinegar," she paused for a moment, surveying the three spiders. "I see you've picked up another friend. What's your name, young man?”

"Spider-Man." Miles had crossed his arms. He was staring resolutely at Liv, while still keeping a close eye on Otto.

"Very... surprising. Not that it matters, I'm hardly phased now when more of you super-powered pests continue to show up. I was just trying to be friendly." Liv reached into her lab coat and pulled out a rectangular device. Otto was watching her every move closely, still coiled to attack should she try anything. "Relax, Otto." She strolled towards him nonchalantly, holding out the object. He looked at it suspiciously. He quickly noted it was a module from her Collider. Otto looked at her questioningly, one lens raised.

"Isn't this part of your Collider?"

"Indeed. It'll power anything you make with intention of travelling dimensions." Otto finally took it from her. Peter had walked over to stand behind him.

"Why would you give this to us?" He asked, mirroring Otto's feelings.

"I have a few of them," She waved him off. "Do you not want to get home, dears?" Liv turned and moved back towards the portal she came from. She stopped for a moment, turned around and winked at them behind her goggles, before she disappeared back through. Peter and Otto turned to look at each other. Miles still hadn't moved. What none of them noticed was the small, blinking red light which cloaked itself a moment later as if it was never there at all.

In a dimension quite far away, Ben Reilly was sitting on the couch again with his arms curled around his legs, he was watching the TV, but nothing was being taken in. Ben was too deep in his own thoughts. He was somewhat afraid for Peter, nut he was trying to reason with himself that his brother didn't let go for no reason. He did let go, right? They both could have easily gotten to safety. Ben trusted Peter, but with Otto and now him gone things were getting worrisome. He didn't know how to even start looking for either of them. 

A tap at the window pulled Ben from his spiral of worry and he looked up to see Pavitr tapping at the window. He let himself in, and took off his mask. Ben's feelings must have been palpable on his face. "Oh, Ben," he sat on the couch next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "what happened?" He asked gently, Ben always did like Pavitr. There was no reason for Ben to make him worry, he steeled himself, uncurling his legs.

"Nothing, Pav. I'm fine." An idea struck him, Pavitr was a genius. "But, random question, how much do you know about dimensional travel?" Pav raised an eyebrow.

"I have some knowledge." Ben knew Pav was selling himself short but it didn't matter, he just wanted to see if there was a way to find out where Otto and Peter had gone. He hated sitting here and doing nothing, he needed to be proactive.

"Is there a way to, like, trace it?" Ben made air quotes.

"Do you mean to find out where people have gone to?" Pavitr sounded dubious.

"Yea, yea, exactly." Ben had stood up, suddenly full of energy.

"I am not sure, but you should probably ask Gwen. She is the only one with access to dimension-travelling technology at this moment." Ben doubted that was the case now, but his goal was clear.

"I'm gonna go pay her a visit then." He stood up.

"I will come with you. I will admit I have many questions to ask her, I am very curious." Pavitr followed him out. Outside the air was crisp and clean, it was dark out. Ironically enough, San Francisco never really sleeps either as the many buildings still lit up the night sky like a star map, stretching far into the horizon. Some time away from the apartments would be good, Ben pondered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are done and I am so tired...


End file.
